His life was about noise until it wasn’t. Heavy metal music, to be specific, and he is Ruben (Riz Ahmed), the drummer and half of the band, Backgammon. His cymbal crashes are shattering, and his beats are pulsating. His girlfriend, … Continue reading SOUND OF METAL
Thanks to the Blu-ray release of Laurel & Hardy: The Definitive Restorations, summer 2020 is getting a much-needed injection of comedy. Though the duo’s oeuvre is almost 100 years old, their comedic timing will never go out of style. And thanks … Continue reading BIG BUSINESS
Marion Michael Robinson, aka John Wayne, aka The Duke, was born in Winterset, Iowa on May 26, 1907. If he were alive today, he would be 113. But he’s not. Wayne died on June 11, 1979, at the age of … Continue reading THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
The rocky, seaside village of Easter Cove, Maine, does not look like the kind of place you’d want to spend a winter. The snow piles up in great heaps, and the wind coming off the water will send an icicle … Continue reading BLOW THE MAN DOWN
Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) is seventeen and pregnant. She lives in a small, blue-collar Pennsylvania town without much of a support system. Her familial relationship appears strained, as does her relationship with the father of her unborn child. He’s a jerk … Continue reading NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
It’s not looking good for local theaters big and small. Cinemark plans to reopen their theaters on July 1—but even that seems suspect. They hope to get things up and running for Christopher Nolan’s latest, Tenet, still scheduled for a … Continue reading Streaming Cat Blues: Week Two
When Anna Karina died on December 14, so did the spirit of the French New Wave. Born Hanne Karin Bayer in Denmark, Karina (Sept. 22, 1940-Dec. 14, 2019) modeled, acted, directed, wrote, and danced. Her career spans nearly five decades, … Continue reading Anna Karina
Who is Frank talking to? That was the question posed as a group of us exited The Irishman. One was a film programmer, the other four: film professors—the fixating kind. But the question was valid. Who is Frank Sheeran (Robert De … Continue reading THE IRISHMAN
Written, produced, and co-starring Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy is filmmaking by way of catharsis. Written during a stint in rehab, Honey Boy presents two periods of LaBeouf’s life in parallel: the first of 22-year-old Otis (Lucas Hedges), who lands in court-appointed rehabilitation program while … Continue reading HONEY BOY
Michael J. Cinema 
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